"You couldn't see much from my perch," Ellen said. "But I could make out the Queen Mum -- the queen featured in "The King's Speech" and William's late great-grandmother. You could spot her because she wore a feathery blue hat that looked like a Muppet."

At the time, Ellen wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times. On Thursday, she wrote about the experience for the Chicago Tribune, where she’s now a senior correspondent.